1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image scanning device in which an Automatic Document Feeder (ADF) frame accommodating an ADF is provided openable and closable on an upper surface of a device main body via a hinge member.
2. Description of Related Art
An image scanning device adopted in a scanner, a facsimile machine and a copying machine or the like uses a flat bed method and a sheet through method. According to the flat bed method, an original document is placed on a platen glass and an image scanning process is carried out. The flat bed method uses a Flat Bed Scanner (FBS). According to the sheet through method, a plurality of original documents are fed sequentially and an image scanning process is carried out. The sheet through method uses an ADF.
FIG. 13 is a schematic front view showing a conventional Plain Paper Facsimile (PPF) type image scanning device 100 which includes an ADF and carries out an image scanning process only by the sheet through method. The image scanning device 100 is primarily applied to a plain paper facsimile. As shown in the drawing, the image scanning device 100 includes a device main body 102 accommodating an image scanning unit 101 and an ADF frame 103 accommodating an ADF (not shown). Original documents P set on a document tray 104 are separated one sheet at a time from an uppermost sheet and fed into the ADF. An image on a front surface of the original documents P is scanned by the image scanning unit 101 through a slit glass 105 disposed at a scanning position X of the device main body 102. The scanned original documents P are discharged onto a document discharge tray 106.
As shown in FIG. 13, the device main body 102 includes a bottom frame 107 and a frame cover 108. The bottom frame 107 fixes the image scanning unit 101 below the ADF. The frame cover 108 is provided on an upper part of the bottom frame 107 and constitutes the document discharge tray 106 or the like. An insertion hole 109 is formed in a vertical direction at an end part of a side surface of the bottom frame 107. The ADF frame 103 is fixed on an upper surface of the device main body 102 via a hinge member 110 inserted in the insertion hole 109. Accordingly, the ADF frame 103 can be opened and closed in a lateral direction. The ADF frame 103 opened in the lateral direction is fixed at a position shown with a dashed line in the drawing by a lock mechanism (not shown). Under this state, a user carries out maintenance work such as the removal of jammed paper and cleaning of paper dust accumulated on the slit glass 105.
Meanwhile, FIG. 14 is a schematic perspective view showing a conventional Multi-Function Peripheral (MFP) type image scanning device 120 which includes a FBS and carries out an image scanning process by the flat bed method. The image scanning device 120 is applied to a MFP which includes multiple functions such as a facsimile function, a copy function, a scanner function and a printer function. As shown in the drawing, the image scanning device 120 includes a device main body 122 and a document pressing plate 123. A platen glass 121 is provided on an upper surface of the device main body 122. The document pressing plate 123 includes an ADF and is provided openable and closable on an upper surface of the device main body 122. The device main body 122 includes a hollow bottom frame 125 and a frame cover 126. An upper surface of the bottom frame 125 has an opening. The platen glass 121 is fixed on the frame cover 126. The frame cover 126 covers the upper surface of the bottom frame 125. An image scanning unit (not shown) is provided in the bottom frame 125 and carries out an image scanning process of an original document by moving below the platen glass 121. At a rear side edge of the frame cover 126 and the bottom frame 125, through holes and insertion holes for inserting hinge members 124 are formed, respectively. A rear side of the document pressing plate 123 is mounted on the upper surface of the device main body 122 via the hinge members 124 inserted through the through holes and the insertion holes. Accordingly, the document pressing plate 123 swings so as to release an upper side of the platen glass 121. As a result, an original document can be easily placed onto or removed from the platen glass 121.
The document pressing plate 123 includes the ADF. When an original document transported by the ADF passes over a slit glass 128 from an opening 127 formed on a lower surface of the document pressing plate 123, an image scanning process is carried out by the image scanning unit in the device main body 122. As described above, the document pressing plate 123 swings with the rear side as a swing center. Therefore, there are cases in which the opening 127, in other words, a transportation path, is displaced with respect to a scanning line of the image scanning unit located below the slit glass 128. Accordingly, an adjustment mechanism becomes necessary to correct the displacement. Conventionally, among a pair of hinge members 124 provided at the left and the right of the document pressing plate 123, for example, the left-side hinge member 124 is fixed and the right-side hinge member 124 is provided adjustable in a front-back direction of the image scanning device 120. By adjusting a position of the right-side hinge member 124, a position of the opening 127 of the document pressing plate 123 is adjusted with respect to the scanning line of the image scanning unit.
However, in the PPF type image scanning device 100, as shown in FIG. 13, the ADF frame 103 swings in the lateral direction of the device main body 102. Therefore, maintenance work of the image scanning device 100 is carried out from the right-hand side of the device main body 102. However, since the document tray 104 or the like is disposed at the right-hand side, there are drawbacks that clothes of a user like a cuff of a shirt may get caught and the maintenance work is difficult to be carried out. In addition, even when the user is left-handed, there are drawbacks that the user is required to carry out the maintenance work from the right-hand side and the maintenance work is difficult to be carried out.
Meanwhile, in case the ADF frame 103 is provided capable of swinging with the rear side of the image scanning device 100 as the swing center, in the same manner as the image scanning device 120, a position of the transportation path is required to be adjusted with respect to a position of the scanning line of the image scanning unit. However, unlike the document pressing cover 123 of the MFP type image scanning device 120, the ADF frame 103 does not have a sufficient width in the left-right direction. Thus, a pair of hinge members are difficult to be provided at the left and the right of the ADF frame 103 for adjusting the position of the ADF frame 103.
In the PPF type image scanning device 100, the insertion hole 109 is provided at the end part of the side surface of the bottom frame 107 and the image scanning unit 101 is fixed at the scanning position X of the device main body 102. On the contrary, in the MFP type image scanning device 120, the insertion holes are provided at the rear side edge of the bottom frame 125 and the image scanning unit is provided movable in the device main body 122. Therefore, in the image scanning device 100 and the image scanning device 120, since a structure and a function of the bottom frame 107 and the bottom frame 125 are different from one another, the bottom frame 107 and the bottom frame 125 are designed and manufactured separately.